My hearing has always been at 50% tops in my best ear, and it has never been a problem professionally. If you do simultaneous, it matters little since you can always adjust the volume up. I don't, I only do consecutive, and I wear hearing aids when I do. That usually does it. Just make sure you are as close as possible to the speaker and, preferably, look him or her in the face. That's it.

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All my life my hearing has been somewhat deficient; not enough to be classified as hearing impaired, and good enough to get by in most normal situations. But when interpreting I have to make sure I have the best possible working conditions including a good, clear sound feed with good volume and/or the ability to be mobile and to get close to the speaker. Some situations I have to avoid entirely because I may have no guarantee that I will be able to hear and understand well enough to to a proper job.

It is just something I have had to compensate for all my life. I think that anyone whose hearing is worse than mine will find that interpreting is not for them.

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Alison SparksLocal time: 06:23 French to English + ...

For those who aren't normally hearing impaired.......

Aug 28, 2012

Try having "glue ear", otitis media or 'otite sérouse' as the French call it.

Even with my hearing totally intact, I've found interpreting difficult enough in a room full of people who argue/chat incessantly during presentations.

However, for the last few months I've been suffering from "glue ear" as a result of allergies, and I'm completely lost as far as hearing a conversation is concerned without trying to interpret! Hence I've had to refuse a few jobs.............

Hats off to Henry and The Misha for managing, and although my problem will be solved next month with a small operation (hopefully not too painful as I'm a real coward), I've been warned that this is just but the start of further problems, so it would be interesting to know how others cope.

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So what !
I lost my hearing on the left side when I was 17 ( a stupid schoolmate blasted a shotgun 10 cm from my ear) but I have been able to interpret for over 15 years. Henry and Misha pointed out how to manage this ”impairment”. Over the years I learned how to read lips, I purchased a good (... and expensive) pair of hearing-aids and, if you don't understand something, just ask for a repetition.

Good luck !

[Edited at 2012-08-28 22:14 GMT]

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But as said earlier it is not a problem in simultaneous interpreting at all. It may be some problem in consecutive interpretation, however a tiny behind the ear hearing aid will do - it depends on the degree of your impairment. Now, most people have some degree of hearing loss, but they don't realize it. I was not aware of mine until I had to see an audiologist as a part of a selection procedure.

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